The Deal
by M M Forever
Summary: Set in Digiworld between episodes 26& 27 Season 1: Myotismon's trap has worked, and Matt is now his unwilling servant... Will Matt's unclear feelings for a certain brunette save him or push him to turn against the people he once called friends? Mimato
1. How it all began

Me: Yes, I know. I should probably be working on the Mythic Legends Saga right now, but I've hit a bit of writer's block at the moment. So I figured I'd post something else in the meantime for you all to read:D  
Matt: You totally know that the title you came up with for this sucks, right? I mean, _The Deal_? For God's sake, could you be _any_ less original?  
Me: Hey, I was 12 when I wrote this originally! Give me a break! At least I'm going through here and revising it so doesn't sound so lame!  
Matt: (snickers) _Sure_ it doesn't…  
Mimi: Now, now, sweetie. Be nice to her, will you? I mean, she _is_ writing another Mimato for us.  
Me: (smiles) And I wouldn't have it any other way! Could one of you do a disclaimer for me please?  
Mimi: M&M Forever does not own Digimon, nor is she making any money for this story.  
Matt: (mutters) No kidding… she couldn't make any money from her writing if her life depended on it… Digimon or not…  
Me: (glares) What did you just say?!  
Matt: Well, think of it this way: you may not get any money for writing this, but at least you can take credit for your sucky plot and title!  
(M&M can be seen chasing Matt off-screen with a baseball bat)  
Me: When I catch you, I'm going to make you regret that!  
Mimi: (sweatdrops) Well, on with the story!

* * *

Chapter One: How it all began…

Matt walked into the dark, dank cave warily, unsure of what, or whom, he would find. Only this morning he'd gotten a message from one of the Digidestined, asking him to meet him here alone after breakfast. The note had claimed that the person wanted to talk with a friend about what had transpired the previous day, and that they had something very important to admit to him, something they wanted to tell him in private. That last part alone had obtained his interest, and so he'd decided he'd at the very least to go to find out what this secret was. As well as be supportive if he could, of course. He'd tried to figure out who had left him the note during the measly breakfast that morning, but everyone was keeping quiet and reflective. Each one of them had gone off and done their own thing afterwards, and he himself had made the excuse of going for a walk to clear his head. In truth, he had no idea which one of his companions he was actually supposed to be meeting, but he had his hopes.

"Hello?" he called out, but no response was made. He moved deeper and deeper into the darkness, and he thought he heard a slight moan. "Hello? Anyone there?" he called out, and yet again his words drew no reply. He paused, unsure of how deeply he wanted to travel into an area that could only barely be made out using the natural light from the entrance. It was only then that he noticed the bone-chilling draft of air that flowed past him the farther back into the cave he went, and he shivered involuntarily. The longer he stayed, the more he noticed, the more he was sure that he did not like this cave.

He stood there for perhaps a good ten minutes, letting the frigid air rush past his bare arms. While he normally had a high tolerance for cold weather, something about the wind in the cave gave him the chills. Whoever he was meeting had better get there soon, or they'd find an icicle-shaped Matt frozen in place.

'Come to think of it,' he thought to himself, 'who would be crazy enough to pick this as a meeting place?' The more he thought about it, the more he could rationalize it not being each one of his friends. T.K. had long been afraid of dark places, as had Kari. Sora would loathe leaving Tai alone to his own devices of his mind for too long after all of the way he'd been talking the night before, and he couldn't see Tai coming up with something like this at all, even in his crazed state. Izzy was probably trying to contact Gennai again, and Joe would be too worried about allergies and other things to even have thought of meeting in a cave. And there was no way Mimi was going into the cave to meet him, she liked the sunshine and warmth better than she'd ever like this cold, heartless person that lingered in a place that reflected who he was… he didn't even know why he'd hoped it would have been her when he saw that note. He didn't even know why he cared about what she thought of him. But at some point, she had started to grow on him—to the point where he would randomly find himself thinking about her, how she was doing, or what she thought.

A sudden noise that sounded like shifting rock could be heard echoing around the cave, and his head snapped to where he thought the noise had originated. But all he could see was darkness.

"Hello?" he tried again, but his voice sounded shrill and piercing to even his own ears. He wasn't one to admit to being scared, but he couldn't help but feel very nervous and insecure without Gabumon around in the Digiworld. If only his friend hadn't been captured the day before by Myotismon, like the others had, maybe he wouldn't be feeling so unnerved by this cave.

His fist clenched in anger, unwilling to acknowledge that he and the others had been powerless to stop the villain. What was worse was that now everyone seemed to be directionless, unsure of what to do, or how to get them back. If there was one thing he loathed, it was feeling vulnerable and weak, and he silently wished he could be strong like Tai. Not that he'd ever tell his friend that, it would surely go straight to the goggle-head's ego, which was big enough as it was. But out of all of them, Tai had remained the most determined to come up with a plan to rescue and free their partners before it was too late and had wandered around the night before, comforting Sora and Kari and giving brave speeches to them all of his plans. Granted none of them were very logical, or even practical, but the very fact that he had refused to show his fear of never seeing Agumon again… well… it made Matt a bit jealous, even if he didn't want to admit it.

He turned to go back out into the light, finally at the end of his tolerance for the cave. But suddenly the sound of flapping wings could be heard right behind him, and he ducked as they rushed overhead towards the entrance. Matt stiffened, hoping that they were simply just bats from the cave and not the signature mark of the one Digimon he did not want to see right now. But all hopes of that died as the bats did not fly out of the cave, but rather massed right at the entrance, blocking the light from sight.

And just when he thought it couldn't get any worse, he heard the one thing he'd hoped he'd never hear… a low and evil chuckle…

* * *

M&M Forever: Just a taste for now. I'm not going to post the whole thing unless I actually get people interested in this. So it's all in your hands! Also, please see my lookup, as I'm holding a Mimato fanfic contest, and I've only gotten one person who has sent me a PM about it! 

And as always, please R&R! Thank you!


	2. To die, or to spy?

Me: Sorry this took so long to get this second chapter up here, but I've had such a rotten case of writers block that I couldn't even rewrite something I'd already written... how sad is that?  
Matt: You really don't want me to answer that, do you...  
Me: Depends...How badly do you want to have this story remain a Mimato?  
Matt: (gulps)  
Me: That's what I thought. Now, like you promised me...  
Matt: (sigh) M&M Forever does not own Digimon, but the plot is hers, so don't take it, or she's going to make me go after you for stealing it... (side glance) and the less I have to deal with her right now, the happier I'll be...  
Mimi: What he really means is, please don't steal from her, she's worked hard on this, and she's made it nice and long to make up for the wait!  
Me: Thank you Mimi. (glares at Matt) Now on with the story!

* * *

Chapter 2: To die, or to spy?

Matt slowly raised himself up to full height from the bent over crouch he had been in as the bats had passed by him. His eyes strained in the darkness as he peered into the darkness that now surrounded him. Entire body tense, he turned slowly to where he thought he had heard Myotismon's voice coming from, but he could see nothing beyond a foot or two of his nose.

"Demi-dart!"

The unexpected attack of Myotismon's henchman threw him completely and he spun, trying to figure out where Demidevimon was coming at him from. As he was nearly blind to anything beyond a foot from him, he struggled to discern if he'd turned too far, or if he'd managed to somehow miss the direction he had perceived the whiny voice from. There was the sound of wings from his left, and he lunged, hoping to tackle the bowling ball-sized creature, but instead his hands only met stone. Feeling about him with his sore hands, he could feel that he was all but surrounded by the rock. The voice, he reasoned, must have echoed from this spot, not come from it.

"Demi-dart!" he heard again, and this time he also felt something sharp pierce the small of his back. But as he spun around to face his attacker, he felt himself grow weary and dizzy. He sagged and soon found himself on his knees, gripping his arms tightly. The pain overcame him then and he slumped to lean his side against the wall. Terror nearly blinded him then, as he feared that whatever Demidevimon's attack had done to his body would end up killing him.

A low chuckle sent shivers up his back, the near agony of the involuntary act nearly sending him to the realm of unconsciousness. Someone lit a torch, but all Matt could see was a hazy blur of light that seemed to hurt his eyes. The voices he heard next didn't make him feel any better.

"Good work, Demidevimon. It seems you actually managed to plant the note undetected, which was more than I had expected from you." Myotismon praised him, his fanged teeth glinting and reflecting the light of the fire revealed by his large, disturbing smile.

"Thank you Master! You are too kind!" the bowling ball-sized Digimon henchman replied in his nasal voice. "Is there anything else you require from me, Lord Myotismon?"

"Actually, yes. Leave me alone with the Digidestined child for a few moments. Go fetch the potion I've prepared for him specially…I want to offer the brat a deal…"

"Yes Master, right away!" came the reply, and Matt could see the blur of light move away from him, growing faint until he could no longer see anything other than total darkness. He was shaking slightly, from the chill of the frigid stone wall he was pressed against, the heavy cold air that he was having a hard time taking into his lungs, whatever Demidevimon had injected him with, and from fear. He hurt so badly that he could barely open his eyes…not that he really wanted to. All in all, things were just about hopeless as it was, without whatever the fanged freak was referring to… something about a deal, if he'd heard right…

Matt felt himself being lifted up by the scruff of his shirt roughly and without concern for his condition until he was no longer touching either the wall or floor. He winced in pain, clenching both eyes and fists in attempt to keep from losing consciousness. He could hear a voice speaking to him, but he couldn't make out what was being said. How long he hung like that, listening to the rumble of Myotismon's voice, he couldn't tell, but he heard the sound of fire crackling, and Demidevimon's wings flapping after a point. More words were spoken, any coherency lost to Matt's drugged reality, but this time they answered by the whine of Demidevimon.

He felt the tip of another needle against his chilled right shoulder, and he squirmed and fought as best as he could to escape the evil Digimon's grasp, only to end up collapsing into a huddled mass on the floor with the needle jabbed into his shoulder. This time, however, the injection seemed to make his thoughts and senses clearer. Not countering whatever he'd been injected with the first time, but combating the symptoms that had rendered him nearly incapable of focusing on anything other than the pain. Eventually he felt the dizziness lessen to the point where he could open his eyes.

When he did, however, he quickly wished that he had not. Myotismon stood before him, the firelight reflecting off his teeth still more threateningly than before. Matt tried to scramble away and make a break for the opening of the cave, but a low kick to his stomach left him winded. Myotismon chuckled.

"Did you really think you could escape me, pathetic child? Even if you did, you would never make it back to the others alive. That poison Demidevimon injected into you will take your life within the hour, unless I decide to give you the antidote. But of course, it will come with a price." Matt moaned, wondering what it was that he'd have to do in order to appease him. He tried not to think of the worst, but he braced himself for it, knowing that with Myotismon the worst was very likely.

"Listen to me, brat, because I won't repeat myself for a third time: I will give you the antidote, and in exchange you must agree to be my spy for your group. You will tell me where they plan to go to look for your Digimon and anything else you find pertinent to your movements. You must also keep them away from my castle at all costs, and if I need you to take them somewhere, you must find a way to get them to follow you."

"And if I don't agree to this?" Matt interrupted, using what little energy he had left to speak.

"You'll die," he said shortly. "And so will your friends. If I give you the antidote, and you do not keep your promise, be assured that I_will_ kill you… You honestly think you can keep your friends safe? How can you protect them if you can't even keep yourself from being caught by my simple trap?"

Matt froze. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he really didn't have much of a choice. Either way he refused to go along with the offer, the chance of him dying was almost assured. The least he could do for his friends would be to agree with it for now, get the antidote, and get back to them in order to warn them of the plot against them. Maybe Izzy or one of the others would be able to find a way to keep Myotismon from killing him…

"Ok, fine. I'll do it. Now let me go," he told Myotismon, trying to stand. Myotismon cackled and kicked him down again, causing him to land on his left side.

"Then you agree to all the terms?"

"What terms haven't you mentioned?" Matt asked, holding his now throbbing and scrapped arm as he got to his knees. Myotismon grinned and held out a small glass vial full of a pinkish liquid to him. Thinking it was perhaps the antidote, he snatched it out of the gloved hand offering it to him. "What's this?" he asked, twirling it around in his hand.

"That, weakling, is the other part of the deal. You'll drink that before I let you go anywhere. It's the antidote in it, as well as your disguise from the other Digidestined children…"

"My disguise?" Matt echoed, very confused at this point.

"You honestly think I'd just let you go without some sort of guarantee you'd come back to me? You take me for a fool, brat? Now drink it!"

"What's in it?" he asked again, only to receive a threatening glare.

"I said drink it! Drink it or die!"

The silence between them deepened beyond the point of lost comfort. Matt lifted the vial and shook it a few times; looking to see if there was something in there he recognized that would give him the answer to what it would do. But the longer he debated and toyed with drinking it, the worse he began to feel. With horror, he began to realize that it was the poison in his body finally starting to take control. Panic overcame him, and he pulled the stopper off the vial and downed the thing as fast as he could.

"There, I've taken it. Now tell me wha-" he started, but the most peculiar feeling overcame him. He looked down at his hands, but they looked no different. He glared up at Myotismon, who simply grinned, his fangs protruding past his lips even more than before. "What did you just do to me?" he asked, unable to keep the fear out of his voice any longer.

"I did nothing to you. You were the one who took the potion, not me."

Pain finally hit him, and he doubled over, screaming so loudly that even Myotismon's smirk faded slightly. Matt couldn't even describe what was happening to him; all he knew was that somehow his body was contorting in ways he knew were not normal, and that either Myotismon was getting taller, or he was shrinking. He could no longer scream like he had before, something had happened to his voice, and his eyes seemed to be getting larger, as he could see more. He shivered a few times, and all seemed to grow black as something smothered his face…

Something kicked him in the head and Matt groaned, finally roused to consciousness. How long he'd been out, he had no idea, but the first thing he noticed as he came to his senses was that he couldn't see. Something was covering his eyes. He tried to lift an arm to brush whatever it was from his eyes away. Nothing happened. He tried again, only to have the same result.

'What the_ hell?_' he thought to himself. He tried to touch his face, but found that for whatever reason, his arms weren't working. 'Great… just when things couldn't get worse, they find a way to get even more horrible.'

"He's awake now, my Lord."

Matt's heart jumped to his mouth at the voice, suddenly remembering what had happened. He felt someone moving the object that was stifling him and he suddenly saw Myotismon before him, this time even bigger and more terrible than before.

"What do you think of him now, Demidevimon?" Myotismon asked his servant, turning to him.

"Not much of a threat if you ask me, which you are, so I'm pleased to tell you that I don't find him all that-"

"Enough," Myotismon barked, and Demidevimon quickly grew silent. Matt tried to move his legs, hoping to stand and not be so low to the ground when Myotismon turned back to him. His legs didn't seem to work either. He glanced down, and found that his face was nearly in the dirt floor of the cave. He turned his head to look behind him, and found that his whole body turned with him. Matt frowned; that wasn't right. He kept turning his head around and around, searching for his body which _had_ to be attached somehow to his head. Head's didn't just up and pop off their respective bodies, even here in the Digiworld... It took him a few more seconds before it suddenly dawned on him, thinking of the Digimon…his head _was_ his body…

"What did…. What do you do to me?!" Matt asked out loud, his voice shaking both in fear and in anger. He turned to glare at the two evil Digimon, demanding an answer.

"You're one of us now," piped Demidevimon. "Though you could have picked a better color for him than pink, Master…"

"_Pink?!_" Matt's eyes grew wide. "What do you mean, _pink_?"

Myotismon turned back to him, the smile on his face so disturbing it made him sick to his stomach… or, what he assumed was still his stomach…

"Isn't it obvious, foolish child?" he cackled, obviously very happy with himself. "You're a Digimon…"

* * *

Matt: Why must you always punish me?!  
Mimi: Maybe if you were nicer to her, she wouldn't be so tempted to put you through so much pain... has that occurred to you?  
Matt: ... maybe?  
Mimi: Matt, some days you're completely hopeless... Anyways, please R&R and give your thoughts on the story thus far! 


	3. Tricked!

M&M Forever: Just a quick author's note here before we get back to it all. Thank you to all of you who read and reviewed my story. I would now like to make a quick plug for my message board and C2 community, both of which are Mimato based, with the C2 also for fans of Taiora and Takari. Also, to address the question that I've been getting regular PMs and e-mails about: YES, I am still planning on continuing the Mythic Legends Saga. I've just hit a bit of a wall in terms of writer's block at the moment. I'm actually debating cleaning it up a bit and re-posting it, adding author notes to explain my thoughts for character reactions and such.

Anyways, enough of my rambling. I would like to simply state that while I don't own Digimon, I sure as heck want to take credit for the plot. Please don't take it. If you want to use it, e-mail me and ask, ok? Thanks!

Now on with the show!

* * *

"You're one of us now," piped Demidevimon. "Though you could have picked a better color for him than pink, Master…" 

"_Pink?!_" Matt's eyes grew wide. "What do you mean, pink?"

Myotismon turned back to him, the smile on his face so disturbing, it made him sick to his stomach… or, what he assumed was still his stomach…

"Isn't it obvious, foolish child?" he cackled, obviously very happy with himself. "You've become a Digimon…"

Matt froze, unable to believe that he'd just heard what he thought he'd heard. Him, a Digimon? Was this just a cruel joke or were they actually serious about him being no longer human? Something of his doubt and confusion must have shown on his face, because Myotismon addressed him again.

"I see you don't believe me yet, but you will. The potion will only last for a week, but you'll need to take the second half of the antidote at the end of that week, which I will have."

"What do you mean, the second half? I thought you just gave me the antidote!" Matt growled, the fur on his back standing up in warning. Wait… _fur_?! Something in the back of his head protested that something really wasn't right, but Matt pushed it away for the moment, more concerned with the fact that he apparently had been tricked yet again.

"The half that was in the potion you just took will only put the poison at bay for that one week," he explained, becoming more and more foreboding as he continued. "And if you don't come back to me at the end of the week, you'll become human again, but the poison will take over, and you will die." He turned to his henchman, ignoring Matt's reaction of anger as if he were no longer in the room. "Demidevimon, pick up his clothes and take them back to my fortress, he will have no need of them for a week."

"Yes master!" Demidevimon said, placing the torch into a nook in the rock wall before flying towards him. It was then that Matt realized that he had indeed shrunk, and as Demidevimon landed beside him, he noted that the two of them were now about the same size. He felt the ground being pulled out from under him, and he tumbled back against the wall. Looking up at Demidevimon in both confusion and irritation, his emotions quickly turned to both realization and fear- the 'ground' beneath him had been his clothes! He watched in horror as Demidevimon gathered his socks and shoes from nearby, along with his shirt and boxers, before disappearing farther into the cave and out of sight. Just when he felt it couldn't get any worse, he caught sight of his tag and crest lying beside his digivice glinting in the torchlight. Myotismon had apparently noticed them as well, and he reached down and picked them all up.

"I will keep your digivice with me, as assurance that you won't try to disobey me," Myotismon explained, stuffing all three items into an inner vest pocket quickly, as if it pained him to hold them for too long. "Your tag and crest I will keep in my fortress along with your clothes. If your work pleases me, I might even consider giving it back to you."

Unsure of what to do or say anymore, Matt gave no reply. Myotismon took this as a sign of submission, and he smiled again before continuing.

"Let us address the rules of your work for me. You will not tell the Digidestined who you really are, nor who you are working for. You will report to me every other night, and you will tell them anything I need you to. If the need arises, you may protect them from a few of my henchman to gain their trust, but if I visit your pathetic group, you may not attack me." Myotismon paused here, a smirk on his face. "Though even if you wanted to, there's no way you could possibly beat me."

"That's it? That's all you want from me?" Matt questioned, unsure if he was missing something vital.

"That is all for now," he promised, and as he continued, Matt knew that here was the catch Myotismon had waited to tell him. "However, you will find this not as easy as you think. If I hear anything from my other spies that you've not kept your mouth shut or not obeyed me, it won't be just your life on the line… Every time you fail to follow my orders, I will take away one Digidestined from your group... permanently. If you don't want to be the only Digidestined alive at the end of the week, I suggest you take heed to my warning."

"You're sick, you know that?" Matt spat, trying to fight away the fear that was washing over his body. Myotismon simply laughed.

"Go. Go back to your group and be ready to report to me tomorrow night on what I require." At this, he drew in his cape with a large and extravagant swoosh, extinguishing the torch as he did so. Matt could hear the squeaking of bats, and he automatically ducked again, cramming his already low body even closer to the ground. After a few moments, he could make out the light to the outside of the cave. He tried to take a step towards it, to run towards the light as fast as he could, but found that he couldn't move his legs. Glancing down at last, he caught sight of pink fur and his round body that reminded him of a mix between Koromon and Tsunomon in the faint light from the cave's mouth.

Unable to believe what he was seeing, he tried to bounce, and found that he could finally move of his own free will. He took it as a sign and booked out of there as fast as his little body allowed him. He felt like screaming, felt like smashing fists that he no longer had into Myotismon's face, anything to get his sudden fear and rage under control. How long he kept going once he was outside in the light, he wasn't sure, but he found himself coming to a sudden stop before a small, meandering stream. Terrified that there had been some sort of hallucinogen in the potion he'd taken in his panicked state, he jumped in, hoping that the cold water would wake him back up to reality. But as he stood in the shallow water and looked down, the face that looked back up at him was not his own. Or more appropriately, not his normal face.

It was then that the realization of what had all taken place hit him, and he sank up to his nose in the water, disbelief washing over him as the stream pushed the icy cold liquid against his warm body in protest. Matt slouched there for what seemed like hours to his tired body, simply letting the water rush past him and hoping that it might carry away this crazy reality he had found himself in. But suddenly in the distance he could hear voices, voices calling out his name, with each cry sounding more concerned and apologetic that the previous.

"Oh_ God_…" he moaned slightly, the full truth of the matter dawning on him. He pulled himself out of the stream and shook himself, water spraying all around him and catching the sunlight that he'd hardly noticed since he'd been changed. He looked around him and tried to discern where the group was, based on their voices. Finally he sighed, and knowing that there was nothing he could do, short of running off and leaving them to fend off Myotismon's certain and eminent attack alone, except to return and hope for the best, even if it meant following Myotismon's instructions. But there was one question remaining in the back of his mind as he cautiously made his way back to his companions: "How the hell am I going to explain _this_?"

* * *

A/N: Yeah, yeah, I know. The plot didn't go too far, but I needed to fully explain the pretenses of the deal, as they'll come to be a major concern for Matt. 

Matt: (sarcastically) Oh, this is going to be wonderful...

Me: Of course! I have to put you through hell and back, or you'll never appreciate your sacrifice... besides, if it makes you feel any better, you're not the sacrifice in the Mythic Legends Saga.

Matt: No, it doesn't. I have to play hero, and frankly, I'm not sure I want to. You always make me do things I don't want to...

Me: Well, Matt, if you don't... you know what happens?

Matt: ...no.

Me: (whispers in his ear, and Matt turns white)

Matt: ARE YOU SERIOUS?! YOU'RE REALLY GOING TO?!

M&M Forever walks away with a evil grin on her face

Matt: Will someone please read and review and tell her to stop torturing me?! PLEASE?!


End file.
